Letter #89 - Der Tag Unsere Befreiung (The Day of Our Liberation)

Happy Easter everyone!! Hope you had an Easter filled with chocolate, Jesus, Prophets, and Peeps (oh my). This Easter for me in Germany was a special one and I wanted it to be, since it's the last one, so I am so glad I took the time to prepare.

This week all led up to a marvelous weekend. The highlight was going on a split with the Golden Elder Klingler. He is a great elder and is serving in Speyer, and so he came up with me and Elder von Wallwitz went back to his old area.

BUT WAIT!

The Week started off barfy (ha.. ha...) because Elder von Wallwitz literally was barfing all over the place. We had a sweet P-day planned to go hang out with the awesome Jesse McDeezy (a member in the ward from America), but as we were doing emails, Elder VW felt sick. When we were getting ready to go, he said he really didn't feel good, so we decided to stay home. He threw up, had some major chills, and didn't feel well at all. So I went into "Doctor Mayne" mode and started doing all that I could, cleaned everything, and washed my hands and stuff a billion times so I wouldn't get sick :) Momma taught me well, nah? He felt like that for a couple of days, and luckily we still got to have a couple of appointments, but other than that I filled my time with lots of study and catchin up on journal writing. :)

Back to the split though. I love golden splits. I love goldens personably. They are so willing and try their very hardest, espcially at the language. But this split was arguably one of my favorite days of the transfer. I really got to see, the progress I have made, and also the amount of time that the Lord has put into me, to make me the missionary I have become. We first contacted two referrals. We met this kid named Michael who is 17 and wants to know the truth. And we taught him the first discussion and set an appointment. After we had a nice comp study, we then taught a great investigator Abbe and basically called him to repentence, and the Spirit was amazingly strong and powerful. At institute, one of the sweetest moments of my day occured. We were talking to these Spanish-speaking people (me in broken Spanish, them in broken German) and ended up taking pics together and are now Facebook friends. Wahoo :)

There is always food after institute, so we were about to eat when one of the members in the ward comes up to me and says that there is this lady in a wheelchair who is here to get a Bible. And I was like, ok we will find one, and does she know about the Book of Mormon? He just smiles and shrugs his shoulders and says "not yet" :) So I grab a Bible and Book of Mormon, and I meet this lady. This lady, Rosina, is a wonderful, wonderful lady. I couldn't talk to her for some reason while standing, so I just knelt right next to her and taught her the first discussion right in the hallway as people are running back and forth and it just felt like we were alone, in a little bubble, feeling the Spirit and truth. She has gone through so much in her life, and she is so positive. She just wants to become the best person she can, and she believes Christ is that example for her. She wants to go out everyday in her wheelchair, and just smile at people and make them happy, and that's her honest desire. It was such a sweet experience, and the Spirit there in that little moment, was so strong. I felt that true Christlike love in that moment, and I can't forget it :)

Now as to the wonderful spiritual feast that I partook of on Saturday, lemme tell you right before that, of our street display right AND transfer calls that happened. WELL, Im staying here in Heidelberg :) And with my good old pal Elder VW. So that means that I'll be here until I'm in the grave, which I'm very very happy about. BUT GUESS WHAT...WE ARE GETTING IPADS!! Elder Bednar is coming for an entire day seminar on the 24th of April and will introduce us to the "Digital Age" of missionary work. Amazing nah? Ive been waiting for this since like, my 2nd transfer and FINALLY the day has come. Pretty funny actually, because (just remembering) we had Zone training this Mittwoch, and we pulled an April Fool's prank and told everyone we are getting iPads.... haha so April Fool's joke still on!!! :)

Anyway, we had our street display where we were planning on having a projector, speakers, and the whole shibang playing "Because He Lives" in the middle of the Hauptstraße and everyone would watch it.... haha so the only day that it didn't stop raining was Saturday... And our prayers were heard later. But ya know, I didn't give up trying. Elder von Wallwitz and I were like, "Heavenly Father, we planned this far in advance, we prepared everything we could, and we are going to go out there in faith, and do thy work." And that's what we did! And let me tell you, I don't think I've gotten so badly rejected before. So many people said, "No, I don't believe in Jesus," and just so much negativity. But I kept going. I can literally tell you I talked to so many people, and over 200 "no's" (not "unsuccesses") came to me. And so by the time we packed up everything, we were about to leave, Elder VW and I and a member, (I'll talk about him in a minute), we said we'd talk to a couple more people before we had to leave. Well, the very next person I talk to is a Muslim guy that actually wants to become Christian and learn about Jesus, and takes my card with such gratitude. Wow. I can tell you that was worth all the no's plus about a thousand more. It was a great way of Heavenly Father showing me His appreciation, and my faith in Him growing.

As for conference, it was a miracle filled time. It literally felt like every single talk had little bits and pieces that were specifically for me and to define my character and what I need to improve on. I love Genreal Conference and compare it literally to Christmas because that's what it feels like :) But we had about 7 investigators come to different sessions and it was great, because Elder VW and I would look at each other and just be like, "That investigator needed to hear that," and it happened over and over. Ah, I love conference. Also, President Frost, who is in the stake Presidency, is such an amazing man. He and his family are so wonderful, so happy, and so in touch with the Gospel. You can see what their prorities are and what is first, which is God, and then you see, that everything falls into place when you do that :)

And a quick shout out to Elders Hawker, Boyd from my mission, and Sister Gilmour, one of my besties, for all completin' the Mish and serving awesomely and wonderfully. Love you all :) Keep going and we will be partying together soon ;)

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!! Have a great week filled with awesomeness, love, and God's guidence.

Elder Mayne

Zone pics :) the homies (elder nelson) and street display prep: car full to the max

Letter #88 - Anticipation Awaits: The Easter Bunny, Baptisms, Christ

You want to know something? Goals are fantastic. They are the only way we grow. We show the Lord where we want to go, and with His help, what we can really achieve. But that's why we have to set them with His Spirit, His purposes, and His instruction, because otherwise we wont be able to become what He wants us to become. Our goal for this transfer, by April 11, is and was to have 10 baptisms. We felt the Spirit as we set the Goal. We have worked our little panties off for it, and still keep doing it, and yet, we still have no baptismal dates. But a miracle did happen this week that still puts a smile to my face when I think of it.

We had a chance to meet with the Reinhards, a wonderful couple. The husband has been investigating the church for quite sometime now, and they are just wonderful. They love each other so much and are so intertwined with the gospel, you can just see the love that they have for each other is based so much on their belief and faith. Well, this time I have been in Heidelberg, Bruder Reinhard has been progressing a lot, but still felt like he needed to learn more and more and the desire to be baptized wasn't really existant. But at this appointment, the Spirit was AMAZING. We just came back from splitting back with Karlsruhe and had comp study in the car to prepare for the lesson. They wanted us to talk about blessings and what a blessing is in general. We had the thought to ask them to write down all the blessings they could think of and share it together. Just that spirit of thankfulness brought a wonderful, sweet feeling in the room. And then we shared some scriptures that showed us that our Father in Heaven gives us so much, all out of his love. Then Elder von Wallwitz pulled out the wonderful baptismal scripture, D&C 39:10. As we read that, Schwester Rheinhard started crying and we took a pause. I testified that one of the biggest blessings we have is the covenants we make with our Father in Heaven. I can not even begin to explain the Spirit in that room. We asked him to be baptized on April 11th, and he said "I can't be baptized then, because I want to be baptized by someone that I have been wanting to baptize me for a long time." He explained he wants to be baptized by his grandson who is coming home from his mission in August. And I was just almost to tears, because I have loved this couple ever since I first met them and have prayed so hard for him to have the faith to make this decision, and then this happened, it was an absolute miracle. Glorious I tell you :)

Another good time this week was this Saturday. We had a concert at our church, where a lot of the members and kids preformed and shared their talents. Totally a typcial Mormon party :) The best part though was that we invited so many people, and they showed up! The stake president wanted to have class right before and teach whoever would come and it was fantastic. Our stake president, President Henkel, is an inspired man. I love this man so much and look up to him. We had ward conference, and it was all about the verse Moroni 10:32:

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

I love this verse so much. It became so evident this week that I really need to be perfected in Christ. I am changing so much here, and I feel like sometimes for the good, sometimes for the better. But I am growing. I want my love in God to be strengthened. I want my Heavenly Father to know that I love Him by my service. And I know one of the best ways is to work hard and smart. I'm constantly reavaluting myself and wanting to know what more can I do, what more does He await of me and sometimes I overwhelm myself. But I know through His grace, I can be made strong. He is there, always. I just need to find Him.

#BecauseHeLives

Have a wonderful Easter weekend all my "Peeps".... ha ha bad joke :) But have a great time with General Conference, remember preperation is everything, and I love you all so much. Jesus ist Auferstanden. :)

LOVE YOU!!

Elder Mayne

Pics: All I know is theres a couple of selfies... haha i took random pictures this week.

BUT WAIT: REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT!!!
Anyone have suggestions on what I should register for at SVU? I have no idea what to study. Haha so insights, opinions, revelations and dreams would be sweet to hear :)

Letter #87 - Meet the Mission

Alright so for starters, I want to apologize to all those that emailed me this week and did not receive an answer.... Today has been a craaaazy day. We went to Karlsruhe, and played soccer. I also had my first experience shopping at Primark.  It is a super cheap place, a.k.a. missionary central.  I'm now on a split with my boy, Elder Nelson from my group at the MTC.  It is so good to be with the homie. He is such a good missionary, and I've loved this kid from the first day at the MTC.  So, shout out to him. :)

This week was a building week. A week of reflection, and gratitude. A highlight of this week was going to good ol' Zone Conference, and watching "Meet the Mormons" again. I love being around all the missionaries. I had a good time with my homies, and with my son, Elder Shelley. It was great. The Conference was centered on the new initiative by the church, coming out this week, with the video "Because He Lives." I love that video so much. During Conference, I really got to reflect on the "why" of Jesus Christ. What He means for me personally. I realized that this Easter, is going to be my last one in the mission field. I just want to make sure that I make it special. If I've realized anything on a mission, it's that Christ is the center of everything that I do. When I don't look towards Him, I fall.

That's what I want to talk about a little today. During the week I just kind of had a break down. I had been hard on myself, and just wanted to know what I could do better to serve my God. It felt like I was doing good, but not good enough. I constantly kept asking myself, "What can I do?" Then, I realized that a big "thing" about me, is that I doubt my abilities. I look too much to others for their opinions of who I am, who I should be, and what I am good at. So, I went out on the balcony of our apartment and I jumped rope until my feet burned and my calves ached. I just wanted that little weakness out of me. I was talking to God saying, "Why am I like this? Why do I look so much to others? Please, can you change this in me?" I thought the harder and harder I worked, it would just magically go away. But it didn't. I sat out on the tree for the rest of the night thinking and talking with Him. Then in the morning for personal study, I decided to read the recent edition of the Liahona.  I found that right in there, it talked specifically to me. It talked about the difference between sin and weakness. The biggest difference, is that God gives me weaknesses, to show me that I'm imperfect, that I'm always learning, and that through His grace, I can be made strong. I know that that was an answer to my heart felt prayer. I work on it constantly and try my best. I am so incredibly thankful for weaknesses, so that I can grow.

Preachy week. Sorry people. :)

On to the other highlights... we have a new investigator, Ali, who is SO AMAZING, and prepared for the gospel. He came this week to church and wants to bring 4 friends. So, hopefully that works out. :) We also met with Andreas, who I hold as one of my best buds on the mission. He and is a wonderful tüp [?] who is a great example to me. AH, if I could lay down to you ALL the miracles happening right now, I would. But, I don't even have enough time for just a small fraction of the miracles. :) What I can say, we love testifying. I know going out with faith, is the right thing to do. Some missionaries lose motivation, and the best way to get over that is to just go out with absolute faith. And well, when the Lord calls me to stand on park benches and preach, I will. :) Because, I know this work is true.

One last thought: I know Christ lives!

LOVE YOU ALL!!! These are some good ol' pics from the week. :)

Mucho Lovo, Elder Mayne

P.S. Familie... How is family home evening, and scripture reading together going?

Letter #86 - The Golden Cycle...in Spanish

Attitude. Attitude. Attitude.

It all starts with you.

That was the theme this entire week, and for our transfer so far together. We recently have been reading a talk by Elder Ballard titled "Creating Success," and it specifically talks about the difference between missionaries that baptize regularly and those that dont. It all just starts with what's going on upstairs, in the mind. What you set your mind to, you can achieve. It seemed like every single day, that talk came up with someone and boy, it has lead us to how we do our work everyday. And to be honest, it's not always the easiest. But we know it is truth. And I know that is what the Lord wants me to learn at this moment.

So this week we met with the sisters and the missionary couple in the ward (Gublers from Vegas). We prayed and pondered and felt that the 13 baptisms that we want to have this transfer, are going to come on a specific date. We decided that on April 11, there will be a huge baptismal service. That is the week after the transfer (because the last week is General Conference) and we have a strong feeling it's going to happen. We fasted on Saturday about it, and it just feels right. And this week showed just how much faith we have, and how the Lord bleeeeesed us (nacho libre voice).

This week we literally got 7 referrals... unheard of. And we still have 2 more to contact, so technically 9. And well, we met with 14 members this week. When I saw that I was like woah.. I didn't even notice! It's like, Elder von Wallwitz and I just make calls, we go there, we teach, we pray, and we leave. We have been so busy, and it's so nice. One of the highlights though this week was some of the lessons we had: We got a refferal from the Kaiserslautern sisters of someone they met on the Train-American, named Johnny. We met with him at the church on Thursday. He is this older man, and we just start talking about life, how he has been in the army since he was 17, all the amazing war stories he has and all the times he has been shot at. And we were just stunned. This man has lived through so much and I'm just like... I graduated high school :) But then he talked about his son and how he tragically took his life. In that moment the Spirit just came over me so strongly. I felt so strongly that this man, who has been literally through the thick and thin of everything, has been kept alive for many reasons, but one specifically, and it's the gospel.

So right after he told us this, he shook our hands and said goodbye. We were like woah wait, can we show you around the church building? And we did, and as time went by, I was feeling the Spirit as we were talking, but I felt like I missed that opportunity of really testifying. We got to the chapel and taught him about the restoration and testified that God has kept him alive for this and that He has a plan for him. You could feel that wonderful Spirit, but you could tell it wasn't the right moment. He said thanks for our time and said goodbye, and we sat in the chapel thinking. We knew we did what we could, but we knew that what he needed was to hear that families are forever. We may never experience what he went throuh, but we know that this knowledge is most precious above all, and I keep it so close and dear to my heart :)

As for the other side of the work (the other "sides" meinte ich because honestly, it's so crazy over here :))... On Saturday, we taught a language class at 9 in the morning, had district leader council at 10, a street display at 1, an appointment at 3, an appointment at 4, another 6, and then one at 8. Luckily we were fasting that day :) Ha but let me just tell ya, the Lord blesses those that serve Him.

To end, I just want to say, the Lord can change any heart, any mind, any desire, if we choose and allow Him to. On one of the days (I can't even remember which day) it was rough towards the end. We had just met with a Spanish-speaking member, and I was on Spanish overload so I was just nodding and pretending to understand everything, and it was just getting to me. And then we had an appointment fall out, I got "blitzed" while driving (over the speed limit. Literally going 1 km above) and my German just failed me. And so, I had a poopy attitude. A couple more things happened and I was just done. Hit bottom again. And at that night, I was gonna give the closing prayer... and it was so hard to even speak. I just felt so unworthy. I just was frusterated, so tired, and was just like, "Why?" But as I prayed.. I just felt the comfort of my Father in Heaven. I picked up my feet, and went full speed ahead the next day. It's not easy. But it's worth it. Because I'm serving my brothers and sisters here. And I love them so much.

Have a great week ya'll. And MY INVITATION FOR ALL IS: just share some love to someone this week. Literally though, if you have a thought to compliment someone or to send a little love note or bake a cake, just go for it. Life is better with love :)
MUCHO LOVO,

Elder Mayne

this is spanish food, basketball shots, and a funny class at a members house :)

Letter #85 - The week of humility to absolute strength.

Being humbled by the Lord isn't a thing that I desire, most of the time, until after it's done. :) Because in the moment, its definitely not the easiest. This week was absolutely wonderful though. Every single day is one to put another piece into the foundation of my testimony. This week, I felt like a golden. Absolute, 100%. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish.

We had about 4 out of 7 days, of entirely Spanish meetings. I had no idea what was going on. One of them was with an investigator and I just sat there thinking... Ok... what can I do? Ha as hard as I focused, nothing was coming. So, I just prayed my tiny little heart out thinking "If I can't speak to them, why not speak to God?" And so I just prayed for Elder VW and teaching the investigator. It went really well actually, and it was good. :) I absolutely love the Spanish language because it's so smooth, and romantic. But the more and more I listen, the more and more I pick up. I am making so many flash cards, and maybe have a written a prayer down in Spanish on one of them. BUT, I'm making progress. :)

This week, we also met with Prakash and with Gianluca, a member. It was a fantastic lesson. The Spirit was so strong. We read Ether 12, and talked about faith and the miracles that follow when we have faith. We watch the new Bible video of Christ calming the sea and wow... This lesson just sparked something in me. First off, Gianluca is one person I will never forget throughout my life. He is the nicest guy in the world, and cares about everyone. But his spiritual level is what makes him stand out. I came out of that lesson wanting to be more like him. :) I have so much left to learn on my mission, and I just can't believe how fast it is all going.

The other thing I would briefly like to talk about (not too much time left) is this Sunday. We went with a member to visit his friend in the hospital that had a stroke a month ago. He was found two days after it happened. It was one of the most humbling moments of my life. He couldn't move the right side of his body. He couldn't talk. The only thing he could do was put the blanket on top of himself, and smile. As I sat with him... It haunted me at first, to think of all the people that must feel this way. But that man's smile as we came in, talked with him, and as I prayed for him... It made all the difference. I testified to him that Christ knows exactly what he is feeling, and suffered that pain for him. I promised him that he wouldn't feel alone. Elder VW and I left there, and just felt humbled. We felt like we take things so much for granted. The daily struggles we deal with, zum beispiel [for example] not being able to speak Spanish, sure are hard in our eyes, but the Lord knows! He knows and never leaves His children behind, never forgets. That's what I want to testify of today, that I know that through our faith and diligence, the Lord will always be with us as we search for Him.

Quick shout out to my boi Elder VW for giving a talk in Spanish this week. :) It was sick. And I gave one in the German Ward. :) Sundays are crazy for us. :) I got to go on a split with my Australian golden, Elder Butler! :) And....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD ON FRIDAY!!! LOVE YOU!!!!

Much Lovo, and I wish you all the best week. :)

Elder Mayne
Pics: self explanatory. :)